A suicide bomber driving an ambulance killed at least 95 people and wounded 158 more in an attack claimed by the Taliban in the Afghan capital Kabul, authorities said. The bombing Saturday came just a week after Taliban militants killed 22 at an international hotel in the city.It has been a month of relentless attacks in Afghanistan, with the Taliban and the Islamic State affiliate making alternate claims of responsibility.The brutality and frequency of the attacks, including one in December at a Shiite cultural center has shattered Afghanistan’s usually quiet winter fighting season. The attacks have infuriated Afghans, frustrated by the worsening security after 16 years of war. They have expressed their anger with neighbor Pakistan for harboring insurgents and with the U.S.-led coalition for its inability to suppress the insurgency. They have also blamed the deteriorating security situation on a deeply divided government embroiled in political feuding that has paralyzed Parliament.President Trump responded to the attack on Saturday:"I condemn the despicable car bombing attack in Kabul today that has left scores of innocent civilians dead and hundreds injured," he said in a statement. "This murderous attack renews our resolve and that of our Afghan partners. The Taliban’s cruelty will not prevail. The United States is committed to a secure Afghanistan that is free from terrorists who would target Americans, our allies, and anyone who does not share their wicked ideology."The attacker Saturday used the ambulance to get through a security checkpoint in central Kabul, telling police he was taking a patient to a nearby hospital, said Nasrat Rahimi, deputy spokesperson for the Interior Ministry. He then detonated his explosives at a second checkpoint, Rahimi said.Windows at the nearby Jamhuriat government hospital were shattered and its walls damaged. People ran out to help and ambulances arrived to transport dozens of wounded to area hospitals.The International Committee of the Red Cross condemned the attack in a tweet, saying: “The use of an ambulance in today’s attack in #Kabul is harrowing ... Unacceptable and unjustifiable.”It was the second successful Taliban attack in a week on high security targets in the city.Last Saturday, six Taliban militants attacked Kabul’s Intercontinental Hotel, leaving 22 people dead, including 14 foreigners. Some 150 guests fled the gun battle and fire sparked by the assault by climbing down bedsheets tied to balconies. The U.S. State Department said multiple American citizens were killed and injured in the attack.The hotel attack prompted the United States to repeat its demand that Pakistan expel Taliban who have found sanctuaries on its soil, with particular reference to the Haqqani network. On Wednesday a U.S. drone slammed into Pakistani tribal territory that borders Afghanistan killing two Haqqani commanders, according to Pakistani officials, who deny providing organized camps for their safety. Pakistan says the Taliban cross the porous border that separates the two countries along with the estimated 1.5 million Afghan refugees still living in Pakistan.After Saturday’s attacks Pakistan issued a statement condemning the bombing.“No cause or ends justify acts of terrorism against innocent people,” the statement said.Afghan security forces, whose competency has been uneven, have struggled to fight the Taliban since the U.S. and NATO formally ended their combat mission in 2014.Associated Press writer Kathy Gannon in Islamabad contributed to this report.

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) —

A suicide bomber driving an ambulance killed at least 95 people and wounded 158 more in an attack claimed by the Taliban in the Afghan capital Kabul, authorities said. The bombing Saturday came just a week after Taliban militants killed 22 at an international hotel in the city.

It has been a month of relentless attacks in Afghanistan, with the Taliban and the Islamic State affiliate making alternate claims of responsibility.

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The brutality and frequency of the attacks, including one in December at a Shiite cultural center has shattered Afghanistan’s usually quiet winter fighting season. The attacks have infuriated Afghans, frustrated by the worsening security after 16 years of war. They have expressed their anger with neighbor Pakistan for harboring insurgents and with the U.S.-led coalition for its inability to suppress the insurgency. They have also blamed the deteriorating security situation on a deeply divided government embroiled in political feuding that has paralyzed Parliament.

President Trump responded to the attack on Saturday:

"I condemn the despicable car bombing attack in Kabul today that has left scores of innocent civilians dead and hundreds injured," he said in a statement. "This murderous attack renews our resolve and that of our Afghan partners. The Taliban’s cruelty will not prevail. The United States is committed to a secure Afghanistan that is free from terrorists who would target Americans, our allies, and anyone who does not share their wicked ideology."

The attacker Saturday used the ambulance to get through a security checkpoint in central Kabul, telling police he was taking a patient to a nearby hospital, said Nasrat Rahimi, deputy spokesperson for the Interior Ministry. He then detonated his explosives at a second checkpoint, Rahimi said.

Windows at the nearby Jamhuriat government hospital were shattered and its walls damaged. People ran out to help and ambulances arrived to transport dozens of wounded to area hospitals.

The International Committee of the Red Cross condemned the attack in a tweet, saying: “The use of an ambulance in today’s attack in #Kabul is harrowing ... Unacceptable and unjustifiable.”

It was the second successful Taliban attack in a week on high security targets in the city.

Last Saturday, six Taliban militants attacked Kabul’s Intercontinental Hotel, leaving 22 people dead, including 14 foreigners. Some 150 guests fled the gun battle and fire sparked by the assault by climbing down bedsheets tied to balconies. The U.S. State Department said multiple American citizens were killed and injured in the attack.

The hotel attack prompted the United States to repeat its demand that Pakistan expel Taliban who have found sanctuaries on its soil, with particular reference to the Haqqani network. On Wednesday a U.S. drone slammed into Pakistani tribal territory that borders Afghanistan killing two Haqqani commanders, according to Pakistani officials, who deny providing organized camps for their safety. Pakistan says the Taliban cross the porous border that separates the two countries along with the estimated 1.5 million Afghan refugees still living in Pakistan.

After Saturday’s attacks Pakistan issued a statement condemning the bombing.